Stop recognising aspirants as leaders, PDP urged

AS a major step towards ensuring fairness and providing a level playing ground for all the aspirants seeking elective posts in the forthcoming elections, a pressure group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oyo Rescue Team 2015 has charged the leadership of the party to, henceforth, cease recognising or invite any of the leaders, who have signified intention to contest any post to leaders or elders meeting.

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The Rescue Team, the group with the sole aim of making the party regain Oyo State, in a statement, issued in Ibadan, on Wednesday, declared that inviting leaders, who have indicated interests in elections to partake in decisions of the party at this crucial matter, tantamount to giving undue advantage to the leaders at the expense of other aspirants.

Furthermore, the group, in the statement, signed by its Coordinator, Mr Babalola Afobaje, submitted that, excluding the aspirants from leaders meetings would also prevent rancor, bitterness and undue rivalry among the aspirants.

The team as part of its’ efforts at sanitising the process of the emergence of the aspirants on the platform of PDP must do away with creating undue advantages for certain categories of aspirants, that are occupying leadership position in the party, at the same time.

A person cannot be a judge in his own case. Any leader of the party, who has signified his or her intention to fight for any elective position, should automatically cease to be a leader at the same time. This is to give room for a level playing ground. Such leaders turned aspirant must not be present the way other aspirants may not be present where decisions affecting their aspirations are been discussed by the party’s hierarchy.

By implication therefore, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, Senator Teslim Folarin, Elder Wole Oyelese, aspirants for the gubernatorial election; Senator Hosea Agboola, aspirant for Senate and others like Honorables Sabauna Muraina, Mulikat Adeola Akande for House of Representatives should cease to be accorded leadership status or invited to partake in any meeting of elders and leaders of the party, until after the primaries.

According to the group, this position would enable the leaders of the party to take independent decision on all aspirants without being bias, as against a situation where such aspirants, on the pretext of being party leaders would be accorded leadership honour at the expenses of the other aspirants.

What is good for the goose is equally good for the gander. We would want our esteem leaders to abide by this declaration so that they could be seen to be above board unbias and fair to all aspirants irrespective of status in the party.